Your Gift is Strength
by Carebeark5
Summary: Emma is sick and Patrick is worried. Sabrina and Patrick meet at the hospital.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Daddy I don't feel good," Emma said as he came into her room to wake her up for school. He felt her forehead and she didn't have a fever. Sitting down on the side of her bed he stroked her hair back from her face.

"What's wrong do you have a sore stomach?"

"No but my head hurts and I'm really tired." She told him rolling onto her side.

"Ok I'll let you stay home from school today, alright. But daddy has to go into work so I'll have to get a sitter to watch you, is that alright? Or do you want me to stay with you."

"No you can go to work." Patrick left her to get some sleep and went to call a sitter. He hoped someone would be available on such short notice.

Luckily one of the babysitters he had used in the past was available and would be coming over shortly. Patrick poked his head into Emma's room to see if she was asleep, she rolled over and opened her eyes. "Hey sweetie I found someone to come watch you for a little bit, ok. Do you remember Sarah?"

"Yes."

"You can call me if you need anything or want me to come home alright." He felt horrible for having to leave her when she wasn't feeling good, but it was probably just a twenty-four hour thing and she would be feeling better in no time.

"Ok daddy." He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead before leaving the room. When the babysitter arrived he headed in for his shift. He was a little later than usual so he headed straight for the locker room to change and start his shift.

"Dr. Drake your late," Ephiphany said as he came back to the nurses desk to grab his charts.

"Sorry Ephiphany, Emma wasn't feeling well so I had to find a last minute sitter."

"I'll let it slide, this time." She said with a smile and he knew she was joking.

Patrick had just finished with a patient and was heading to the break room for some coffee when his cell phone rang, he fished it out of his pocket. "Sarah is everything alright?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Drake but Emma spiked a fever a little while ago, I tried a wet cloth but it doesn't seem to be going down."

"Can you bring her over to the hospital?" He asked wanting to check things out for himself.

A little while later Sarah stepped off the elevator carrying Emma in her arms, "Has the fever went down any?"

"No I don't think so." Patrick took Emma from her and carried her to one of the empty rooms to check her out. He laid her down and told Sarah to stay with her while he went to get some stuff.

"Alright I'm back baby, daddies here." He said as he took her temperature.

"Daddy I don't feel good."

"I know sweetie you have a fever. Daddy wants you to drink this ok," he said handing her some water. He needed to keep her hydrated and try to get the fever down. He sent a nurse to get some cool compressed and some medicine to help bring her fever down. "You'll feel better soon, I promise."

Patrick pulled a chair up to her bedside and took her tiny hand in his, "Try and get some sleep baby."

"Don't leave me daddy."

"I'm not going anywhere sweetheart."

"Here's the medicine Dr. Drake," the nurse said handing it to him. He had never seen this nurse before around the hospital.

"Thank you. Emma here you go sweetie this will make you feel better." He told her giving her the medicine as the nurse got the compressed ready. Emma looked up at the woman standing beside her bed, "What's your name?"

"I'm Sabrina." She said reaching out and touching the little girls arm.

"I'm Emma." She said weakly before closing her eyes.

"Are you new here? I haven't seen you around the hospital before." Patrick said looking at her.

"Yes i just moved here."

"It's nice to meet you."

"Do you need anything else?" Sabrina asked as she took her hand off Emma's arm. Emma opened her eyes and looked up at her sleepily.

"Can you stay with me too?" Emma asked her.

"Oh sweetie, Sabrina probably has other patients to look after," Patrick told her.

"Do you?" Emma asked her.

"No actually I just finished my shift so I can stay as long as its alright with your daddy." She asked looking at Dr. Drake.

"Sabrina can stay with us as long as she wants sweetie." He said with a smile. Emma must have really liked her if she wanted her to stay and he would do anything for Emma at the moment.

"I'll stay until you fall asleep, is that alright?" Sabrina asked her. All she did was shake her head and Sabrina could tell she wasn't feeling any better yet.

The next day Sabrina came in a little earlier to check on Emma. She couldn't get that sweet little girl out of her mind and she had to make sure she was feeling better. The door was open so she stepped in and noticed Dr. Drake slumped over in the chair by his daughters bed. He must have stayed with her all night and she didnt blame him. She had wanted to do the same thing, last night when Emma had asked her to stay she almost melted. She stepped a little closer to the bed and Emma looked like she was asleep as well so she turned to leave and come back later.

"Sabrina I don't feel so good." She heard as she turned back around and walked over to her.

"Do you feel like your gonna be sick?" She asked her as she touched her head to check of she still had a fever.

"Mmm hmm." She said as Sabrina grabbed something for her to get sick in. As the little girl bent over and started to get sick Sabrina rubbed her back and tried to console her. Patrick immediately woke up and stood up to stroke the hair back from her face.

Patrick checked her fever and it was higher than it had been yesterday. "Let's try some more compresses." Patrick took her hospital gown off because it was soaked and that's when he noticed the bruises. They were just starting to form on her back and this had him worried, "Look at this."

She stepped closer and looked, "How long have those been there?"

"They weren't there yesterday."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"We should order some blood work right away."

"I agree and maybe we should also check her red and white blood cell count and her platelets?" She said as she wrote in her chart.

"Yeah," he said as he ran his hand through his hair and let out a sigh. He thought this was just some simple bug, a 24 hour thing and she would be back to her old self in no time but now he wasn't so sure. 'What if something is seriously wrong with her?' He thought to himself.

Sabrina could tell he was worried but she knew it could be any number of things from anemia, menengitis, cancer or it could be something simple like the flu. Maybe the bruises had been there and he hadn't really noticed. It was no use to speculate until they had the test results. "I'll order the tests right away." She said as she left the room.

She came back a few minutes later wheeling in a mobile tray. "Hi sweetie, how are you feeling?"

"Not good."

"We're gonna do some tests, is that ok with you? It will help us find out what's making you sick so we can make you better." She explained to the little girl.

"You'll stay with me?" She asked Sabrina looking between her and her father.

"Of course I will, I'm not going anywhere?" Patrick told her as he took her hand in his.

"Ok." Emma said as Sabrina sat down on the bed beside her.

"Alright Emma have you ever had blood taken before?" She asked the little girl.

"No."

"See this little guy," she said holding up a yellow thing shaped like a bumble bee. "He's going to help so you won't even feel it." She told the little girl as she placed it on her arm where they would be taking blood. "It will feel a little cold and you'll feel small vibrations."

"That feels funny." Emma said looking at her dad.

"I've never seen the before, what's it do?" Patrick asked her.

"They use it down in Peeds for the kids who freak out when getting shots or taking blood. It's a cold pack that uses vibration to desensitize the nerves so they won't even feel it." She said as she removed it and took Emma's blood. "See all done."

"I didn't feel it." Emma told her.

"See, now I'll get these down to the lab." She said sticking on the labels.

"Are you coming back?" Emma asked her.

"If you want me to." Emma just nodded her head. "Then I'll be back a little later, ok."

Sabrina grabbed two coffees from the breakroom and went back to check on Emma. The results hadn't come in yet so they were just waiting to hear back. "Here I got you a coffee," she said handing one to him as he sat up straighter in the chair.

"Oh thank you. Are the results in yet?" He asked her as he took a sip of the coffee.

"No I went by to check but they said it might be a little while longer."

"I hate this." He said slamming the coffee cup onto the table.

"I know, this is definitely the worst part. The waiting and the not knowing."

"If anything happens to her..." He couldn't finish the sentence, she was all he had left. She was his little baby and he didnt know what he would do if this was something was seriously wrong with her.

"You just need to try to stay positive, there's not use worrying until you know for sure. It might be nothing."

"I know, your right. I just can't lose someone else I love," he said choking up at the thought.

"Emma's mom?" She asked remembering what she had heard around the hospital.

"Yeah, her name was Robin. A year ago she was here in the lab trying to save a friend when something went horribly wrong. A chemical she was working with caused an explosion." He told her reliving the moment in his mind.

"Oh my god, Patrick. I'm so sorry." She said turning to look at him, she didnt know what else to say. "Um..how long has Emma been feeling sick?" She asked changing the subject.

"A few days."

"Has she ever been sick before?"

"No she's never had anything other than a cold or the flu before."

"Excuse me Dr. Drake your daughters test results are in," another nurse said poking their head in the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Excuse me Dr. Drake your daughters test results are in," another nurse said poking her head in the door.

"Let me see." He said as she handed the results to him. Glancing down at the page the breath completely left his body in a loud exhale. It was what he had been worried about all along. "No!" He cried dropping the chart which hit the floor with a loud clang before dropping his head into his hands.

"Patrick?" Sabrina said as she jumped up from her spot and bent to pick up the chart from the floor. She looked down to see what it said and the words they feared were right there in black and white, Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest. 'How could something like this happen to that sweet little angel?' She wondered as she looked over at Emma who was fast asleep, she looked so tiny in that hospital bed with her favorite stuffed animal tucked in beside her.

"How can this be happening?" Patrick said looking over at Sabrina. He dropped down into the chair he had been sitting in previously and Sabrina came over and sat down beside him.

"I'm so so sorry," she said as he wrapped his arms around her and started to cry. At first she was a little taken by surprise but then she wrapped her arms around him and held him close. This was just what he needed at the moment to let it all out, he would have a hard road ahead of him.

"Daddy? Are you crying?" Emma called sleepily from the hospital bed.

He swiped a hand across his cheeks before getting up and going over to her bedside, "Hey sweetie your awake."

"Why were your crying?" She asked again sitting up in the bed.

He didn't want to lie to her and she would have to kno the truth sooner or later, "Um well baby we got some bad news and it made daddy kinda sad."

"It's about me isn't it?" She said as he sat on the bed beside her.

"Yes honey it is. You know how you haven't been feeling well it's because you have something called leukemia. That's just a big word for a sickness that attacks your body and it can be very scary."

"Am I gonna be alright?"

Sabrina came over to stand by the side of the bed with them, "Your daddy and I will do everything we can to make sure you get better, ok sweetheart?"

"Ok but what are you gonna do?"

"Well we might have to do something called chemotherapy that's when they put some stuff in your body to help fight the sickness. But it might make you feel worse for a little while." Patrick told her sadly. He really didn't even want to think about her going through something like this, she was just a little girl.

"Why isn't it supposed to make me better?"

"Yes it is but because its fighting so hard to make you better it makes you feel a little sick. its helping to get rid of those bad things that are making you sick in the first place." Sabrina told her.

"Am I gonna lose my hair like Amy did?"

Patrick remembered her friend from school had gone through something similar, "You might but it will grow back eventually."

"Daddy I don't wanna have no hair." She cried as he pulled her into his arms. He felt like he couldn't do this, how could something like this happen to his precious little girl.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"You know what," Sabrina said reaching out and placing a hand on the little girls back. "My mom was sick and when she lost all her hair we got her this beautiful scarf to wear until it grew back. If you lose yours we could get you one too maybe a pink one or one with Disney Princesse's on it."

"Really?"

"Ya if you want."

"I guess it won't be that bad." Emma said with a small smile. Patrick looked at Sabrina who was across from him, she had stayed long after her shift had ended to wait for the results and she had comforted Emma when she needed it the most. And she had been there for him as well and he couldn't help but feel grateful. She sure was something special.

Sabrina was about to leave the room she thought maybe she should let Patrick have some time alone with his daughter but when she turned to leave Emma reached out and grabbed her hand. "Please don't leave Sabrina, stay with me. Can you tell me about your mommy?" The little girl pleaded.

"Oh of course I can sweetie. I'll stay as long as you want ok." Her shift had ended a few hours ago so she didn't have anywhere to be.

She dragged a chair over beside Emma's bed and sat down to tell her all about her mom. "I was a little younger than you her than you when my mom got sick." Sabrina told her.

"We're you scared?"

"Yes I was." She said with a nod. She remembered being terrified that she was going to lose her mom and how hard it had been when she had lost her.

"I'm scared too but having you and daddy here makes me feel better." The little girl said reaching out and grasping her hand.

"I'm glad I can help you feel better, sweetie." Sabrina stayed by her side until Emma was fast asleep. Patrick was sitting across from her on the other side of the bed.

"Thank you for staying. She really seems to like you."

"I like her too, a lot. Do you think I could be there when you start her treatments? It might make her more at ease." Sabrina said hoping he would let her be there. She had only met them both a few days ago and she was already invested in this little girl. She prayed everything would work out for her and that she would get better.

"Yes as a matter of fact i was just going to ask that. I'm sure Emma would love it. I just want her to get better and I know she has a hard road ahead of her but I just don't want her to be scared to to worry about it. I just want to keep her happy for as long as I can."

"I know you do. When were you thinking of starting her treatments?"

"As soon as possible."

They started the treatments the very next day because timing was key, they needed to treat the cancer as soon as possible. Sabrina was working a shift that day so Patrick talked to Monica about her being able to be there with Emma since she seemed calmer when she was around.

"Alright we're all set." Patrick said walking up to Sabrina who was putting a file back onto the pile.

"Oh good. How's Emma doing this morning?" She asked as they headed for her room to take her down for the chemo.

"She's a little scared. I tried to explain what would be happening but she doesn't really understand it all. She was asking about you, she's afraid you weren't going to be there."

"Aww well she won't have to worry." Sabrina said as they entered the room.

Emma sat up on the bed, "Sabrina you came." She said with a small smile.

"Of course I did sweetie. I wouldn't let you do this all on your own."

Emma patted the bed beside her so Sabrina sat down, "Is this gonna hurt?" She asked looked up at her.

"No sweetie all were going to do is give you some medicine so we need to put a little tube right here on your arm to get the medicine into your system. You had a shot the other day right? Well that's what it will feel like a shot right there and then we will tape down the tube. And that's it then you just need to sit there for a little while until all the medicine is done."

"And you'll stay the whole time?" She asked.

"Yes the whole time and your daddy will be with you too."

"Thanks Sabrina as long as you and daddy are there I know it will be ok."

"You ready Princess?" Patrick asked as he lifted her up and carried her down the hall with Sabrina following behind and making faces at Emma to make her laugh. When they got to the room Emma sat down in the chair as Sabrina got everything ready. She thought if she did it herself Emma would feel more at ease. "You ready sweetheart?"

"Yeah."

"Alright your going to feel a little pick." She told her after she had swabbed he area. Emma looked at her dad as he reached over and took her other hand in his. "There we go sweetie all done." Sabrina attached the Iv bag to the pole and sat down in the chair beside her. Emma reached over and held Sabrina's hand too, now all they had to do was wait.


	5. Chapter 5

"How much longer Sabrina?" Emma asked looking up at her. She was tried of sitting still.

"Only a little bit longer sweetie. How about we do something to tale your mind off it?"

"Like what?"

"Well we could play a game or I could tell you a story." She said playing with the little girls hair.

"Story!" Emma said looking up at her.

"Ok let me see..." She thought about the stories she had heard as a child. "I got it...once there was a miller who was very poor and he had a beautiful daughter. He told the king that his daughter was very special and do you know why?"

"No why?" Emma asked excitedly.

"Because she could spin straw into gold."

"Really? That's so cool."

"Yes it is. So the king wanted to see for himself, he brought her to the palace and left her in a room to spin some. But she had no idea what she was doing. Just then a man showed up and he told her he could help her." Sabrina continued on with the story her mother had told her as a kid. She had absolutely loved the story of Rumpelstiltskin and had always begged to hear it gain and again.

When she finished the story she looked over and Emma was fast asleep but Patrick was listening intently. She still held Emma's hand as she slept and Patrick couldn't help but smile. "Your amazing with her."

"It's hard not to be she's a wonderful little girl."

"She sure is." Patrick looked up to see that the treatment was almost over, "I hope she tolerates the treatments."

"Me too." She said as she reached across Emma and grasped his hand in hers.

When she was had finished her first treatment Patrick tried to unhook her without waking her but she opened her eyes and smiled weakly at them. "Thanks for staying with me Sabrina you made it not so scary."

"No problem sweetie, anytime you need me I'll be there for you, ok."

"Really? You mean it?"

"Of course I do sweetheart." Sabrina said as Emma stood up from the chair. "Hey are you hungry or thirsty?"

"A little."

"How about some chocolate pudding?" Patrick suggested.

Emma just nodded her head he knew how much she loved chocolate pudding. The three of them headed down to the cafeteria to get some, Emma in the middle holding both of their hands.

As they found a table Patrick got them each some pudding and some drinks. "Here we go girls." He told them taking a seat across from them.

"Daddy when do we get to go home?" She asked spooning some into her mouth.

"We just need to make sure your doing better and then we can go home ok baby? And we will need to come back for some more treatments, alright"

"Ok."

When they headed back to Emma's room so she could get some rest Sabrina told them she had to go and check on some other patients. She didn't want to leave Emma but she had to get back to work or Epiphany would come and find her. "I promise I'll come back later and see how your doing, ok."

"But I don't want you to go." Emma said as Patrick covered her with the blanket.

"Baby she has to go back to work and help other little kids like you but shell be back."

"You'll be asleep so you won't even know I'm gone and later I'll be back and we can do something fun, ok

"Ok."


End file.
